Gavin Newsom continues to assert himself front and center as he appears poised to make a 2028 presidential run. However, some recent attention paid to Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, has been less than flattering. A resurfaced 2022 interview shows Seibel Newsom discussing her documentary “Fair Play” with former Fox journalist Elex Michaelson. The documentary and the book it was based on focus on reconsidering traditional gender roles, with Seibel Newsom lauding same-sex couples who break those roles. “Someone’s got to do the care work in a same-sex male couple. Someone’s got to do that, so I’m just going to do it. And … not be afraid or ashamed because it’s part of being human,” she said.

Seibel also pushed for progressives to redefine what it means to be “pro-life.” “So many progressives are leaning into redefining what pro-life is really about, and that’s what we’re doing in California. You know, pro-life is about prenatal care and universal preschool and universal after-school and universal healthcare and taking care of foster kids and feeding kids universal meals and childcare. Like, that’s pro-life. It’s not about conception,” she said, pushing back against traditional conservatives’ views against abortion.

She went on to offer some harsh criticism against so-called “far right” individuals, particularly conservative Christians. “We’re all on a spectrum, right?” she asked. “It’s just how society kind of pushes us and pressures us into these limiting gender roles. They’re living in this silo, this evangelical, conservative silo that, ultimately, is just pulling us back as a country to a time and a place where we don’t deserve to be, and we’re not going to be,” she added, saying that “young women and fathers of daughters are awake now.”

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) quickly blasted Seibel Newsom’s comments. “So clearly, Newsom’s wife is at odds with Evangelical Christians and conservatives. It’s also eye-opening how at odds she is with many within her state,” the group wrote, noting that California is the ACLJ’s largest donor base. “So, Jennifer is completely out of touch with millions within her own state. And if the number is that high in California, how many does she oppose nationally” The ACLJ pondered if such statements could hurt her husband’s presidential bid.

More glaring is that Seibel Newsom stands accused of pocketing money from her non-profit organization the Representation Project, a charity that pits itself against “intersectional gender stereotypes.” According to recent IRS documents, Seibel Newsom has paid herself and her company, Girls Club LLC, over $3.7 million from 2012 to 2023, a figure that amounts to up to a third of her nonprofit’s entire income each year. She receives a salary of $150,000 from the Representation Project, with her company taking another $150,000. This puts her in the top 5% of highest paid non-profit executives. Seibel Newsom has not responded to accusations of financial misconduct. “This isn’t the first time Siebel Newsom’s gender justice-focused nonprofit has made news concerning its financial data,” said Sarah Lee, spokesperson for conservative charity watchdog the Capital Research Center. “In the wake of serious investigative efforts into how nonprofits are keeping their books and working with state officials, the question of very high salaries is likely going to be much harder for the Newsoms to wave away without explanation.”